Stunning Love
by NatashaS
Summary: COMPLETE Sequel to RESURRECTED ('previously' included). Anya makes a stupid drunken mistake, leading one of the Scoobies to fatal danger, and the whole gang have to work together, delivering emotional speeches among other things, to save them.
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer - it all belongs to Joss Whedon.  
  
DEDICATIONS: I'm dedicating this story to my best friends, the rest of Platoon 6: MIA AND MAIJA - my Buffy soulmates, who can completely identify with my obsession. I don't think I can thank you enough for not only encouraging me to write fan fics, but also for introducing me to Buffy! I love you guys! LAURA - my Angel-obsessed friend. We have everything in common. . .except for the fact that you're a Bangel and I'm a Spuffy. . .oh well! I love your comics (especially Oz. . .he he. . .), keep drawing! HEATHER - Despite being the founder of the Anti-Buffy Soviet (which has 2 members - you and your cat), I love you loads, and even though you'll probably hate me for it, this story is dedicated to you too. IMOGEN - although you are far away in that little cottage of yours, I have not forgotten you and never will! Dedicating this story to you so you know that you're still loved.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So here is my sequel to 'Resurrected', which was like the first episode of my version of Season 8. This takes place right after, kinda like the second episode. However, for all of you that don't know what happened in the first story, here is a recap (in 'Previously, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer' mode):  
  
Spike and Anya were sent back to Earth as humans by an unknown power.  
  
They started making their way to LA, because they wanted to get in touch with the gang for their own personal reasons (i.e. Anya for Xander, Spike for Buffy). And the only person they knew that could help them was Angel (by the way, Cordy's not in a coma for this fic).  
  
The gang, meanwhile, had moved to San Francisco. Buffy was finding it hard to settle back down, but trying her best, as she had managed to buy a house with Willow, Kennedy and Dawn. Xander had bought his own apartment.  
  
Anya and Spike managed to find Angel, who told them that Buffy loved Spike. Spike didn't want to believe this and get his hopes up, but he decided he'd need to see her first. Cordelia happily offered to drive them to San Francisco.  
  
The gang had gathered that night to watch a movie. They received a call from Cordelia telling them she'd be coming that night with a surprise.  
  
Spike and Anya showed up, much to the delight/awe/worry of everybody.  
  
Buffy reacted strangely, avoiding Spike as much as possible. He confronted her about it, and she admitted that she loved him, but needed some 'time and space.'  
  
Anya tried to tell Xander she loved him, but before she could, he referred to her as his 'bestest buddy.' However, deep down, he loved her too, and was just too afraid to tell her the truth.  
  
Now, the story continues.  
  
Stunning Love  
  
Chapter 1  
  
It was an average, demon-free evening in San Francisco. The Scoobies were all up to their own business. Buffy, Willow and Dawn were in the dining room looking up various demons and seeing if any danger was fast approaching.  
  
'This is useless,' Dawn said, as she put down the book, frustrated, and let out an exasperated sigh. 'We haven't been out in ages! All we seem to do these days is look up more pointless stuff in more and more out-of-date books for more pointless information!'  
  
Buffy looked at her with deep annoyance. 'Well, no one's forcing you to look at these books. You could go and study your math.'  
  
Dawn's expression immediately changed. Her eyes widened and she grabbed a book, opening it at a random page. 'Never mind.'  
  
Willow laughed silently. The Summers sisters' bickering was always funny to listen to.  
  
Just then Kennedy came down the stairs. 'Hey,' she walked into the dining room and approached Willow. She planted a light kiss on her lips. 'You guys still looking stuff up?'  
  
'It's what we do best,' Dawn replied, still slightly angry at Buffy. Willow looked up at Kennedy. 'But most of these demons are really grossing me out. Like this one,' Willow pointed at a picture in one of the books. Kennedy looked at it interestingly. 'He feeds on human brains.' Willow made this disgusted face, whereas Kennedy looked quite impressed.  
  
Suddenly, the door opened. It was Anya.  
  
When Anya, along with Spike, had come back from the dead, she (surprisingly enough) had no money and no possessions except for the clothes on her back. She promised the gang she would get a job (and had managed to get one, with Kennedy's help, as a waitress at a local bar) and as soon as she could afford her own apartment would buy one. Until then, she would live in the house with them, bringing in her share of the income. They had all been fine with this, but now that Anya was settling in, she seemed to show no sign of leaving.  
  
As soon as she glanced at them all studying the books, she rolled her eyes. 'Oh, no, not again! Will you for once do something non-demon related?'  
  
Buffy smiled sarcastically. 'Nice to see you too Anya.'  
  
Anya looked at them thoughtfully. 'Well, I guess it's better than not doing anything.' She searched them all with her eyes. 'Where's Xander?'  
  
'He's out,' Willow said.  
  
Anya perked up. A look of interest washed over her face. She started babbling. 'Out? Where? At work? Or is it leisure... with some co-workers? Or on a date? Would you say he was happy before he left, or really casual about it? What was his precise tone-  
  
'Anya!' Buffy snapped. 'Xander's out, OK? We don't know where, we don't know who with, or anything else for that matter.'  
  
'Oh. . .' Anya looked away, embarrassed.  
  
When Xander had left her at the altar, she had been extremely angry with him. But as time passed, she'd managed to get over him, yet realised that she still did in fact have feelings for him. Of course, she wasn't going to admit this to anyone, but everyone around her knew (except for Xander, who was completely oblivious to this fact, even though he himself had feelings for her). This is what made them all smirk at each other after her outburst.  
  
'It's just, I. . .uh. . .needed to ask him something. Yeah! Needed to ask him something!'  
  
She had a triumphant look on her face. Dawn and Buffy exchanged glances. 'We're sure he'll be back soon,' Dawn assured her. And as if by magic (which it really wasn't this time) Xander came through the door. 'Oh yes! I am the champion!' He lifted clenched fists over his head victoriously. 'I got promoted!'  
  
'That's great Xander!' Buffy smiled at him enthusiastically, as did everyone else with words of support.  
  
'I know! I haven't even been working there that long, and already my boss - she's really great - has taken a liking to me.'  
  
'She, eh?' Willow grinned. 'Our little Xander doesn't have a crush, does he?'  
  
Xander paused, stunned. 'No, no. . .of course not.' He was hesitating. It was because Anya was in the room, but everyone else perceived it as though he was shy about it.  
  
'Oh come on!' Dawn joked. 'You like her really, don't you Xand?'  
  
He smiled nervously. 'No guys, I really don't like her that way. . .'  
  
They started taunting him. 'Xander and his boss sitting in a tree. . .'  
  
'Ah, if she has any interest in me, she must be a demon,' he laughed it off, but was getting annoyed at the fact they were all saying this in front of Anya. He didn't want her to think he was seeing anybody else.  
  
He turned to the stairs. 'I'm gonna go take a shower. . .' All of them sat there smiling. All of them except Anya. Willow was the first to notice. 'Hey, Anya, are you O-  
  
'I've just remembered, I've got something to do,' Anya quickly interrupted.  
  
Dawn looked surprised. 'But you just came here. . .'  
  
'Yeah well, you know me. Always forgetting this kind of stuff. Can't talk, already late.' She rushed out of the door as fast as she could, trying to hold back tears. Why was Xander moving on so quickly without her? They were meant to be together, not him and some trampy whore of a boss. And it wasn't like her to cry, especially over some guy. Hadn't all those years as a vengeance demon taught her that? Men are scum. You should never rely on men, or be emotional over them, that's what she had been taught.  
  
But the more Anya thought about it the faster she walked. She needed a hard drink, and she needed it fast. She made her way to the closest bar she could think of.  
  
**********  
  
As they watched Anya walk out, a couple of them cringed, while the others looked at where she had been standing, with painful expressions.  
  
'Do you think she'll be OK?' Kennedy asked.  
  
'Of course,' Buffy said, although she didn't seem too sure about it herself. 'She just needs some time to cool off. There's always gonna be feelings between those two. When Anya's found someone and Xander's alone, he's gonna feel the same way as she is right now.' They all nodded in silent agreement, as they turned back to the ancient books.  
  
**********  
  
Anya had found her perfect place, sitting at the bar, slightly drunk on a few vodkas, conversing with the bartender. She had heard the thing about how bartenders were like therapists except with drinks, and she was testing that theory by telling him all her problems.  
  
'I mean, I don't still love him - well, I do - but come on! You think he'd need a bit more time to get over me! I mean, look at this!' She straightened herself out and pointed at her body. 'Wouldn't it take you a bit of time to get over hot sweaty sex with this body?!' The bartender raised his eyebrows. 'Absolutely,' he said, as if trying to shush her.  
  
'It's not easy being the only person in a house without someone! You got Buffy - she's the slayer - she's got this on/off thing with Spike - he's an ex-vampire, but became human when he was brought back to life.'  
  
Anya never would've told anyone about any of this, but when she was drunk, you could never stop anything leaving her mouth. However, the bartender didn't seem to react at all bizarrely as most humans would have.  
  
'Then there's Dawn, Buffy's sister, who's OK I guess, but she's always got some guy chasing after her,' Anya continued, rolling her eyes as she said the last part. 'Then there's Willow. She's this majorly powerful witch that almost destroyed the world a couple of years ago. Even she's got someone!'  
  
Suddenly, the bartender became alert. 'A witch, you say?' Anya turned to look at him directly. She just brushed his reaction away though. 'Yuh-huh. She's gay too. I mean, a gay witch with a not quite clean history, a new slayer's in love with her. And I still can't get anyone! Not even Xander who I'm totally in love with!' She slammed her head down on the bar. Then she lifted it up again, rubbing it with her hand. 'Ow. . .'  
  
She rested her chin on it this time. 'I better go. . .' She got up slowly and made her way out the door.  
  
Anya walked to the house wondering what she was gonna tell everybody when she got back. She definitely couldn't tell them she'd been moping about Xander the past couple of hours. She'd come up with something when she got there, she always did.  
  
She walked up to the door, got out her key, and after several failed attempts to place it into the keyhole, just managed. To her surprise, the only person up was Dawn, wearing pink pyjamas.  
  
'Anya! You're back!' She came to give her a big hug, and then suddenly stopped, crinkling up her nose as if she'd smelt something foul. 'You've been drinking haven't you?' Anya frowned slightly. 'Just a bit.'  
  
Dawn smiled. 'Well, I'm just glad you're OK. I wanted to stay up and see that you came back alright. But we better keep it down,' she gave a cheeky grin. 'The rest of them all think I'm asleep.'  
  
'Where are they?' Anya asked curiously.  
  
'Early night,' Dawn replied. 'They kept saying you could take care of yourself, but I wanted to stay up and wait for you. Now that you're here, we can both go to bed!'  
  
Anya smiled at her. 'Thanks for waiting up for me.' She climbed tiredly up the stairs, and managed to throw herself onto her bed without even getting under the covers.  
  
Anya had been so drunk, however, that she hadn't realised as she was going to the house that she was being followed. Followed, unfortunately, by someone that knew everything about the people living in the house she had just walked into. Followed by someone who had intended to hurt someone living in that house.  
  
It was the bartender.  
  
**********  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: More coming soon. In the next chapter, we find out what that sneaky bartender is up to, and Spike makes his appearance, helping the gang get to the bottom of the problem. Also, if you like this fic and haven't read the first one, please go check it out, it's called RESURRECTED, and if you review I'll love you forever. 


	2. Feeling Blue

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer - it all belongs to Joss Whedon.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So. . .what exactly happened? It's revealed in this chapter, with Spike helping out of course. Please, please review!  
  
Chapter 2  
  
A scream echoed through the house from one of the bedrooms. It was Kennedy.  
  
It was very soon after both Dawn and Anya had fallen asleep. Of course, they hadn't slept long.  
  
'Oh my G-d! You guys! You guys, get up, something's wrong with Willow!' She shrieked as she ran out of her bedroom and into everyone else's, waking them up as soon as she could. She first ran into Buffy's, who was of course alert at the sudden sign of trouble.  
  
'OK, calm down Kennedy, tell me exactly what's wrong.' She placed her hands around Kennedy's arms in an attempt to calm her. At this point, everyone had rushed into Buffy's bedroom.  
  
'I don't know. . .she's gone all blue. . .I don't know if she's dead. . .' She started to be drowned out by her own sobs. But she managed to gain enough strength to lead them all to their bedroom. And as soon as everyone reached there, they stopped, horrified.  
  
Willow was lying on the bed; her eyes wide open, and indeed as Kennedy had said, blue. Literally, her skin was blue. Buffy did the first thing that came to her mind, rushed over and checked to see if there was a pulse.  
  
'She's alive,' Buffy turned to face everyone, and she could feel the wave of relief around the room. 'But I don't know what's wrong with her. Maybe this isn't some demon thing, maybe it's just - guess what - something human. We should take her to the hospital.'  
  
Dawn objected. 'I'm not so sure, Buffy. Willow's in perfect health! You don't suddenly turn blue in the middle of the night for no apparent reason! This is something supernatural.'  
  
'Yes, but we can't take any chances,' Xander interrupted urgently. 'Unless any of you recognise this,' he pointed at Willow, 'then I suggest we get a doctor.'  
  
Everyone seemed to agree with this option, but Dawn still hadn't finished.  
  
'We might not, but there's still someone else that will recognise anything out of the ordinary.' They looked at each other, suddenly realising she was right. Buffy finished Dawn's thought.  
  
'Spike.'  
  
**********  
  
Spike, after he'd come back with all the formalities, had ended up sharing an apartment with Xander (to Xander's great annoyance). Even though he could come out in sunlight now, he preferred the dark, and he was generally awake throughout the entire night.  
  
After Buffy had told him she loved him, but that she needed time and space, Spike didn't want to take any chances, and barely spent any time at all with the group. Most of them hardly remembered he'd come back at all.  
  
He was sitting in a chair, having a drink (but not smoking a cigarette as usual - now that he was human, he wanted to prolong his life) when Buffy burst in. He smiled.  
  
'Oh, Buffy, hi. . .' He stood up, pleasantly surprised to see her. Was it possible she was ready for a relationship with him?  
  
'So, what brings you to my humble home tonight?' He stood up, drink still in his hand.  
  
'We need you urgently. There's something wrong with Willow. We're not sure what it is, but we think you might know.'  
  
He paused. 'Oh, so that's it then.' He turned around finishing his drink, disappointed, and placed it on a small table 'You only come here when you need my help.'  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes. 'Look Spike, we can deal with your problems later. Right now we've got a Willow who's not looking very alive. . .'  
  
'And what do you expect me to do about it?' he challenged her with a deep glare.  
  
He accepted that she didn't want to see him often, he realised she needed some time to relax, but he wished Buffy wouldn't just come to him for business and for once would be there to see him.  
  
Still, he always thought, the more time I can spend with her the better, no matter what the circumstances.  
  
She realised that was what he was thinking about. 'Look, I know we've got a lot to talk about,' she explained. 'But please, just come to the house, help us save Willow, and then we can get everything sorted out, I promise.'  
  
He looked into her eyes, like he always did, and realised she was telling the truth.  
  
'Alright.'  
  
**********  
  
They didn't talk much on the way. Even if he'd asked her to describe Willow's condition, Buffy would have been quite reluctant about it, because she was too nervous about finding anything out until Spike saw Willow in person. Any other conversation would've been too dangerous to go into considering their current 'relationship'.  
  
As soon as they arrived, everyone who had been sitting and waiting as if for a death sentence all rushed to the door. They all started talking at once.  
  
'Hey, hey, back off!' Spike said as they all started crowding around him. 'I need to see her for myself before I can say anything.' He paused, as everyone looked at him anxiously. 'OK, where is she?'  
  
They all led him to the living room, where they had brought the body down. This time only Xander was talking. 'Kennedy woke up, and she screamed, after seeing Willow's body. We all woke up, and found her like this.'  
  
He showed Spike the body as they reached it, and the initial reaction wasn't good. 'Oh no.' He ran up to her and, just like Buffy, took her pulse. 'Oh, G-d, it can't be.' It would've been an understatement to say everyone started panicking.  
  
'Spike, what's wrong with her?' Buffy shouted. Her voice contrasted through everyone's cries, yet was shaky. He turned around to look at them all.  
  
'OK, it's not good. It can be dealt with, but it takes a lot of co- operation from you lot.'  
  
Buffy was getting furious. 'Look, whatever Spike! What is wrong with her?'  
  
He started explaining. 'It's a traditional curse that can only be put on witches. It does exactly this, turns them blue, and puts them in critical condition.'  
  
Kennedy looked at him as of he'd said something crazy. 'That's absurd! Who'd want to hurt Willow?'  
  
'When I said 'traditional' curse, I meant traditional for a certain group of people.'  
  
Xander, who never really liked Spike much, was getting angrier by the minute. 'What exact group of people would that be, Spike?'  
  
Spike sighed, and eventually let it out. 'Witch hunters.' 


	3. Back to the Books

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer - it all belongs to Joss Whedon.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry I haven't posted in a long time - I've had this other project. But here is the next chapter. It's kinda short, but I will post again very soon. Hope you all enjoy, thanks for the reviews so far, keep doing that please!  
  
Chapter 3  
  
'Witch hunters?' Buffy looked at him insanely. Suddenly, Dawn's facial expression changed.  
  
'Oh my G-d, he's right!' They all turned to look at her. She began to explain.  
  
'I was just reading up on some stuff, and I came upon this witch hunter thing.' Everyone looked fairly impressed. 'Yeah, they pathologically hate witches for some reason and want to hurt them as much as possible. I read on and there's this thing they do called 'stunning', where they turn witches blue like this.' Dawn had a triumphant look on her face.  
  
Xander seemed annoyed. 'And you couldn't have told us this while we were all worried sick about Willow and waiting for Spike to come?'  
  
Dawn looked offended. 'Sorry.' She said defensively. 'I just didn't remember.'  
  
Spike continued. 'Well, as I was saying, she'll stay like this for 24 hours, and if a spell isn't done in that time. . .well. . .she'll die.'  
  
At the last word, everyone gasped, and Kennedy almost collapsed to the floor. Buffy however, remained calm. 'Well, what's this spell? Can you tell it to us so we can get Willow back to her normal skin colour?'  
  
'Well, you know I would,' Spike sighed. 'But unfortunately I don't know it. You're gonna have to look it up.'  
  
There was a sound of protest. 'Oh come on, Spike, are you telling me that Willow's life hangs on us researching and finding a spell in less than a day?!' Buffy argued.  
  
He smiled darkly. 'At least you're all experts at it.' He walked past her towards the dining room, and glanced at all the closed books on the table. 'OK, everyone, put some coffee on, grab a book and let's get going.'  
  
**********  
  
Two hours later, in the wee hours of the night, they were all looking at the books frantically for any spell that sounded remotely like what Spike had said. Dawn was the one who was most annoyed, considering she was sure she'd seen it briefly when she'd read about witch hunters, but couldn't remember which book it was, since they all looked pretty much the same. Kennedy however, was the most distressed out of all of them at the prospect of losing Willow. She was researching least.  
  
'Every time I think about Willow potentially dying in about 21 hrs, my stomach just flips!' She started sobbing harder. 'You guys, what if she dies?'  
  
Buffy however seemed irritated. 'Look, Kennedy, she's not gonna die. This spell exists, and it's in one of these books, it's just a question of time until we find it.'  
  
'But what if time runs out?!' She sounded panicked.  
  
'Alright, that's it!' Buffy had reached the end of her tether. She slammed the book she was checking on the table so hard everyone jumped. 'I have faced a lot of crap in my lifetime as a slayer. Willow - and everyone else for that matter - has been in worse situations.' She looked around at everyone who seemed to be silently agreeing.  
  
'Look, that's not the point! The point is, we've all gotten through it. And we will this time.' She looked back at Kennedy. 'You have to be confident. You're a slayer - where is the slayer attitude? Just don't give up, and believe me, everything will be fine.'  
  
Everyone was silent for a while looking through the books. 'You know what I'm curious about though,' Anya suddenly said. Despite her being drunk a few hours ago, she had sobered up. 'How did this witch hunter guy find Willow?'  
  
Spike seemed informed on the subject. 'These guys don't go around wearing big 'I'm a witch hunter' signs. They blend into the crowd, just like one of us. They work in jobs where people tend to tell them a lot about their private lives, after which they follow you, or track the witch down themselves. They put the witches under this curse, which doesn't kill them straight away, because this spell to reverse it is apparently meant to be some kind of test on whether the witch deserves to live.'  
  
Anya scoffed at him slightly. 'Yeah, but what idiot would be stupid enough to blab all over the place that they live with a witch. . .' She stopped, feeling as if she didn't need the coffee to keep her wide awake anymore. 'Spike, you know you said witch hunters take jobs where people tell them a lot about their private lives?'  
  
He looked at her surprised. 'Yeah. . .'  
  
She swallowed, which seemed to be very difficult at that moment. She was fidgeting with her hands under the table nervously. 'What kinda job would that be?'  
  
Spike thought for a moment, or what seemed like a lifetime to Anya. 'I dunno, hair dressers, therapists, bartenders. . .'  
  
Anya felt as if she was being swallowed up, perhaps in her own guilt. Bartenders, he'd just said, bartenders. She had been pouring her soul out to a bartender just a few hours ago. . .what had she said. . ."then there's Willow. She's this majorly powerful witch". . .how could she have been so stupid?. . .now that she thought about it, he hadn't seemed that surprised when she kept mentioning supernatural things. . .and it slowly dawned on her, like an evil raising its head.  
  
It was her fault Willow was dying. 


	4. False Hope

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer - it all belongs to Joss Whedon.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I forgot to mention yesterday. . .Happy Halloween everybody! Well, it is kinda still for me, I'm having a party with my friends at the moment, and they're all looking over my shoulder. . .thanks for the reviews! Keep 'em coming!  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Only a few minutes' after Anya's private revelation, Dawn jumped out of her seat. 'I found it!' She had a look of great ecstasy on her face. Everyone crowded around her.  
  
'What does it say?' Kennedy asked, mixed emotions of excitement and anxiousness coming out of her.  
  
Dawn skimmed over it for a moment. Then she got the look on her face as if she'd put two and two together. 'You were right, Spike, when you said it was some kind of test.' The rest of them looked at her hopefully. 'We're meant to sit around her in a circle, and each say this blessing, followed by saying why she's important to us individually, and then another blessing.'  
  
Xander looked confused. 'How is that a test?'  
  
Dawn rolled her eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 'Don't you see? By all of us saying how much she means to us, we're meant to prove to these witch hunters that she has a right to stay alive.'  
  
Xander raised an eyebrow. 'By showing them she's got friends she cares about, and that care about her?' Dawn smiled at him, and then at the rest of them. 'Exactly.'  
  
'Well, that's easy,' Anya interrupted. 'She means a lot to all of us, of course she's gonna live.' Anya figured if it was that easy to bring Willow back, perhaps then she wouldn't need to tell them she was responsible. If she was indeed going to tell them at all (she hadn't decided yet).  
  
'But that's not it, you guys. . .' Dawn continued with a puzzled expression on her face. 'It says the witch also needs to be kissed by her true love. . .' Her voice wandered away. Everybody froze. Everybody, except Kennedy.  
  
'Well, great!' she exclaimed. 'You guys say your bit, I'll kiss her, and everything will be alright!' They all looked at her, not knowing what to say next. 'Dawn, are there any supplies needed?' Dawn looked dazed for a moment, but suddenly came back to reality.  
  
'Oh, supplies. . .' she looked at the book. 'Yeah, each of us needs a candle, and uh. . .that's pretty much it. . .'  
  
'Great, I'll go get them from Willow's supply chest under her bed.' Kennedy ran up the stairs, slightly excited, even though the situation had just worsened in everyone else's eyes. There was a moment of silence. Spike began: 'You all realise that-  
  
'There's a problem?' Buffy finished for him.  
  
'With the true love part?' Anya said, feeling the worst out of all of them.  
  
'Because, of course, we all know,' Xander said.  
  
Dawn continued. 'Who Willow's true love is.'  
  
Then, as if they could all read each other's minds, and with a slight dread in their voices, said a single word at exactly the same time.  
  
'Tara.'  
  
**********  
  
'It's over.' Xander said, as he placed his face in his hands. 'My best friend is about to die, and I can't do anything to save her!' He started crying, something hardly any one had ever seen him do. Well, maybe once or twice.  
  
'It can't be,' Buffy stood up. 'There has to be another way.'  
  
Anya was trying to come up with anything that would mean Willow not dying. 'Hey, have you guys considered that maybe Kennedy's her true love?' She looked around hopefully, but everyone just gave her a look as if she'd just made a joke that was completely tasteless in the current situation.  
  
Buffy, however, wasn't ready to give up. 'Dawn, look at the spell carefully. There has to be another way.'  
  
'I don't know, Buffy. . .' she started looking at the spell again, and suddenly her eyes widened. 'Wait. . .a. . .sec. . .' she put that book down, and picked another one up. 'There's something here. . .it might just work.' She was flicking through a book of Spiritual Spells and stopped at a page. She pointed at it. 'The spirit circle. . .' she said quietly. She skimmed over the page, and looked extremely happy. She whispered 'That's it.'  
  
'What's it?' Xander got up and walked over to Dawn.  
  
She smiled. 'I've found a way we can get Tara to kiss Willow.' Spike looked at her incredulously. 'How?'  
  
She started explaining, and looked incredibly proud of herself. 'The spell says they need to kiss so that their souls can combine and wake the witch up.'  
  
Buffy was getting it. 'So Tara doesn't physically need to be there, just spiritually. . .' her eyes twinkled. Xander, however, was still confused.  
  
'How does that help us at all?'  
  
'Well,' Dawn went on. 'If we can get a substitute body to be a temporary home for Tara's soul, the body would kiss Willow, but Tara's soul would combine.' Buffy hadn't understood that far, though. 'How does that improve the situation though? We can't get Tara's soul in anyone's body. . .'  
  
'Yes we can,' Spike interrupted. 'You said "the spirit circle", right Dawn?'  
  
Dawn nodded. He continued. 'As you may or may not know, spirits float around all over. Among other things, these can be the souls of the dead.' He paused to check if everyone was following. They all nodded, so he went on. 'A spirit circle can hold two souls at once, and enables them to switch places temporarily after a short spell is chanted.' He paused, slightly confused. 'Hang on, how can you get Tara's soul here?'  
  
'Summoning spell. It can summon spirits, like psychics do in the movies.' He looked impressed.  
  
'So you're suggesting,' Buffy said 'that somebody uses their body to switch souls temporarily with Tara.' She paused. 'So, who wants the job?'  
  
'I'll do it.' There was a sudden voice from behind them.  
  
Standing there, with several candles in a bag, was Kennedy. 


	5. A Sacrifice and a Spell

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer - it all belongs to Joss Whedon.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'll just explain. . .in the next couple of chapters, there are going to be speeches said by the gang. I really tried hard with these and tried to get the emotions right and all that. . .I hope that it's as close as possible to what would really be said, and I'd love some feedback on it from all of you out there. Also, those who are awaiting Spuffyness - the next chapter will be the beginning of it all. Please keep reading and reviewing!  
  
Chapter 5  
  
'Kennedy!' They all exclaimed. She stood firmly in her place.  
  
'How long have you been standing there?' Buffy asked.  
  
'Long enough to know what I have to do.'  
  
They all stood there staring at her. Buffy spoke again. 'I'm so sorry you had to find out that way Kennedy.'  
  
'Find what out?' She was slightly bitter. 'The fact that I have to rent my body to a complete stranger, or the fact that the woman that I intended to spend the rest of my life with is in love with someone else?' She had tears in her eyes.  
  
Spike objected. 'Now, Kennedy, Willow loves you a lot. I can bet everything I have - well, that's actually not much, but anyway - I can bet everything I have that she feels exactly the same way about you as you do about her.'  
  
'Oh, so she'll spend the rest of her life with me, because, after all, her true love's dead, right?' She turned away for a moment. 'Yeah, I don't know what feels better, a dead woman being more loved than I am or being second choice.'  
  
At the last remark Dawn rose up angrily, with a tear rolling down her cheek. 'Don't you dare refer to Tara like that! She was like a second mother to me, and there isn't a day that I don't think about her and wish she were here.' She walked right up to Kennedy. 'If Willow hadn't killed Warren, I would've myself, that's how much I loved her.'  
  
Anya was slightly concerned about the way Dawn was speaking. 'Now, Dawn, you have to put yourself in Kennedy's position. . .'  
  
'Back off Anya!' Dawn growled. Now it seemed as if Dawn was telling off Kennedy. 'No one's forcing you to do this, and frankly after what you just said, I don't think Willow would've liked you to do it either.'  
  
Kennedy's face showed a look of true sorrow. 'I'm sorry, Dawn, I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I understand you loved Tara a lot, as did Willow, and nothing will ever change that.' She paused, somehow with a new aura of bravery on her. 'But I love Willow, and I want to do this for her. And,' she added as an afterthought, 'feeling Tara again will make Willow unbelievably happy, and I'd do anything to give her that.' There was a moment of grave silence. Then she turned to everyone else in the room.  
  
'Now we should really finish this spell before dawn, if we all keep going on about our own problems, time will run out.' She smiled weakly. 'Dawn, do you want to lead us through the procedure?'  
  
Dawn looked very professional all of a sudden. 'So, as Kennedy said, it would be best to finish before dawn. We have about 4 or 5 hours. I see we've got the candles, everyone take one.' They each got one from the bag.  
  
'Now we just need Willow's body and everyone to set themselves around her. Also, while we're setting up, considering I need to crack this spirit circle spell and how to say it correctly, which will take a while, everybody think about what you're going to say about Willow. It's gonna take a *lot* of positive thoughts to get her back.' She took a deep breath. 'Let's go.'  
  
**********  
  
It wasn't long before all was set up. Dawn was busy cracking the language with Spike, while everyone else had taken a cushion and seated themselves on it, holding a candle that Anya offered to light (although, more times than once, she almost set people's hands on fire, because she was shaking so much. All that was going through Anya's mind was 'if this doesn't work, if Willow dies, it will be my fault,' with an additional thought of 'what will Xander think of me?').  
  
When Anya finished lighting the candles, she, Buffy, Xander and Kennedy sat in silence thinking what they were going to say, while Dawn and Spike finished off the language cracking. Then the two of them stood up, each taking their position in the circle, as Dawn began debriefing them on the process.  
  
'OK, we're each gonna say our bit about Willow, which as I said before will begin and end with a specific blessing. It's in English, and I've written it down here,' she lifted up a piece of paper, 'so pass this to the next person when you're finished. Say the top one before, and the bottom one after.'  
  
'Hey, Dawn, how long do our speeches have to be?' Xander asked curiously.  
  
'As long as you say what you feel, the length doesn't matter.' She continued. 'As soon as the last person has finished, it'll be the moment of truth. If Willow's worthy of life from the witch hunters' point of view, she'll begin to glow.'  
  
'What colour?' Anya asked. They all looked at her.  
  
'Does it matter?' Dawn said through gritted teeth, but kept her voice calm.  
  
'I was just wondering, you know, because one colour could be good, and one could be bad, like, uh, colour codes.' They all stared at her for a moment, trying to understand why she was here in the first place.  
  
Spike whispered to Buffy, 'I certainly hope her speech is better than her comments, otherwise we're doomed.' She turned to him, and smiled, but instead was fascinated by the incredible warmth in his eyes. She couldn't believe this was the man who was in love with her.  
  
'Anyway, moving on,' Dawn continued, with a deep glare on Anya, 'Kennedy, I will cast the spirit circle, followed by summoning Tara. I will recite something which will cause a temporary swap of souls-  
  
'How long will she be in my body?'  
  
Dawn looked at the floor, and then back up at Kennedy. 'It doesn't say, probably only a few minutes. So,' she turned to all of them, 'I need everyone's co-operation to help me explain to Tara what's going on.'  
  
There was a mixture of 'yeah' and 'of course' from the rest of them.  
  
'Then, Tara will kiss Willow, she'll wake up, the soul swap will reverse by itself. . .' she drew a deep breath. 'And that will be that. Any questions?'  
  
Silence.  
  
'Alright then,' said Dawn. 'I'll go first.'  
  
**********  
  
Dawn held her candle, and started reciting from the piece of paper: ~ Hear me now, all you spirits, for you are taking a life that does not deserve to be taken. Hear my declaration of a great life, for she is true and brave, honest and kind, And now you will hear how much she means to me. ~ She looked up, smiled at the rest of them, and began the own part of her speech.  
  
'When I came to Sunnydale, nobody knew who I was - or I guess they kinda did - but anyway. At the beginning of course, you thought I was Buffy's kid sister, and that's how I was treated. But the most amazing thing of all was, when you found out that I wasn't really any relation to her, nothing changed. Not a thing. You - and everyone else for that matter - treated me amazingly. You'd known Buffy and Xander for years, and even though I was still younger than all of your friends, you treated me like one of them.'  
  
She paused, as if trying to find the right words. 'One of the most amazing things you did was bringing Tara into our lives. Even though she can't be with. . .' she had started crying. 'Can't be with us right now. . .I treasure the moments that I had with her. And I'll never forget her. . .' At that moment, she was contemplating whether to mention anything about Willow's period of evil, and suddenly knew what she had to say.  
  
'You loved Tara so much, that when she was killed inhumanly by something not even worthy of a name. . .you knew you'd give anything to get revenge. And even though that doesn't seem like the greatest quality, it is something incredible. Because loving someone enough to do all you did, it was so powerful. Why was it a good thing? . . .Now you've learnt your lesson from it, and next time won't hurt anyone. But you'll still love with all your passion, and protect with all your ability. That is why I feel you deserve to live a much longer life than you have been given. Because of all the love you give, and that is something really rare.'  
  
She put her head down, indicating she'd finished, and recited the next blessing: ~ You have heard what I have to say, with the power of my feelings and others', release her from this imprisonment at the door of death. Grant her life, as she deserves. ~ She passed the piece of paper to the next person, who was Spike. 


	6. Pigs Fly

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer - it all belongs to Joss Whedon.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I thought I'd post this now, considering today's my birthday (yay me!) and this is a big Spuffy milestone, so all those who have been awaiting it, here it is. Also, a special dedication of this chapter to Mia, who drew me the most amazing picture of Spike on my birthday card. Thank you so much! As a special birthday present for me, please everybody review!  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Spike picked up his candle, recited the blessing and began his speech. Everyone was interested in what he had to say, since he had the least 'experience' with Willow.  
  
'Well, Red, I guess looking at everyone around me, I can safely say I probably mean the least to you. But you know, you have made quite an impact on me.' He laughed darkly.  
  
'I thought I knew you, all the brains, perfect in every way. . .until of course that excuse for a human Warren popped into town. You really showed what you could be. And, even though I wasn't physically there, to me that meant a lot. You must be wondering why. . .'  
  
He took a deep breath. 'Don't think I've forgotten my evil days. The mass killing, the blood-sucking vampire side of me - it'll never leave me, despite my being human. All those images of people begging for their lives, they'll forever stay with me.' They all stared at him with looks of "will you get to the point?" He acknowledged them.  
  
'When I went from Sunnydale to rid myself of all the feelings I was having, and return to the way I was before, I was fully prepared to go evil again. When I got a soul though. . . it's the ultimate punishment a vampire can get. At least I thought it was. . .' He looked at Buffy briefly, and with the candle still in his right hand, he took her hand with his left. 'I thought I was only going to live in pain the rest of my life. But somehow. . .somehow. . . you gave me hope, Willow. The way you'd become the biggest threat to the world overnight, and suddenly went back to fighting evil, it really inspired me. Inspired me to be the man I wanted to. To admit my feelings. I became the closest thing to a human being that a vampire could've become. I think that's partly what helped me come back as a human after I was resurrected. I am able to love. And I do love,' He paused and turned to Buffy.  
  
'Perhaps she does not feel the same way as I do, but deep down my soul will combine with hers, and that day will be my greatest.' He turned back to Willow's body.  
  
'So thank you, Willow, for giving me hope, and showing me that I am able to live. Spiritually, not just physically.'  
  
There was a moment of silence as everyone stared, shocked, at the touching speech Spike had just made. He recited the other blessing in a finalised sort of tone, while Buffy looked at him in amazement. At that moment, she knew exactly what she would say to him when this was all over.  
  
**********  
  
Spike handed Buffy the piece of paper with the blessing on it. She was still shocked, yet happy at that moment. She picked up her candle and recited the blessing. Then she went on to her own speech.  
  
'I still remember the first time we met Willow. Funnily enough it was through Cordelia's taunting. I guess it's weird, but we have Cordelia to thank for becoming such good friends, because seeing her do that to you at that moment, I knew I couldn't do that. So, I guess you, me, Xander and Giles started off our own mini fight club. Perhaps you guys thought at times that you were holding me back, but being there for me is one of the things I wanna thank you for. Through those years of high school, when any normal teenager was meant to be worrying about finals, about guys, about celebrities' latest scandals. . .I was worrying about the next apocalypse, about vampires and the newest demons in town. It wasn't easy, looking in the mirror each day, thinking to myself "why was I cursed with this? Why me?"'  
  
She paused, slightly tearful in her own misery. But then she continued. 'There was not a lot to live for. I mean, if I was gone, a new slayer would've been picked, right? That wouldn't have mattered. . . No. The reason I got out of bed each day and smiled was because of you, Xander and Giles. You made me happy. You gave me the back-up I needed. . . and even though I've already died twice, I probably would've died a lot more times if it hadn't been for you.'  
  
She laughed quietly, and everyone else smiled vaguely. 'Also. . . I suppose what you think is one of your biggest regrets was bringing me back to life the second time.' Everyone suddenly held their breath; this was something Buffy had hardly ever talked about, not since the musical extravaganza. But even then, she'd only sang about it, and hadn't revealed the fact that she'd been in heaven intentionally.  
  
'You probably think it was the biggest mistake of your life; taking me out of the only peace I'd ever had.' They all looked at the floor, a couple of them slightly guilty.  
  
'But you're wrong.'  
  
Everyone looked up at her, not believing their ears. 'You have no idea how much I thought about it. But you know, since I came back,' she started counting off on her fingers. 'I've helped save the world from you, I saved the world from ultimate evil, and I guess most importantly,' now it was her turn to put Spike on the spot. She turned to him, taking his hand like he'd taken hers. 'I've realised who the love of my life is.'  
  
His eyes widened. 'I thought I'd never find peace again. But I did. In his eyes.' He started getting tears in his eyes. So did she for that matter. 'And in his heart, where I had been kept dearly.' They held each other's hands tighter, and felt a powerful energy flowing through that touch.  
  
Buffy turned back to Willow. 'So I wanna thank you Will, for helping me survive, and for bringing me back to life to realise my true purpose.' She tearfully recited the blessing after, and passed the sheet of paper to Kennedy.  
  
Normally, in a different situation, the rest of them would have made fake vomiting actions (or at least Anya would've), but now, everyone was staring, bewildered. Spike and Buffy had admitted to loving each other more than anything else. . . were pigs flying by the window?  
  
**********  
  
But now the pressure was on Kennedy. Normally, this would've been easy for her, considering they were a couple, but after she had found out about Tara, the future of their relationship was in jeopardy. What would she say?  
  
She picked up her candle, recited the first blessing and began her speech.  
  
'Several months ago, I was called to this place because I was going to fight the biggest evil. All I thought that lay ahead of me was hard labour, pain and possibly my own death. I was ready to face that.' She was speaking confidently, strongly, but then the tone of her voice changed, as did the subject of her speech.  
  
'But one thing I didn't expect. . .was love. Like I'd never experienced before. Sure, I'd had girlfriends before - like I told you, I knew I was gay since I was four, watching 'Gone with the Wind' and wanting to sweep Scarlet off her feet myself. . .' She smiled, remembering that moment. So did everyone else.  
  
'All I ever wanted was to experience true love. I've never told you this, but I knew I would have something amazing with you. And I did. The first time we kissed. . .' she stopped for a moment. 'Well, maybe not that time so much, considering you turned into that Warren guy. . .but the second time, definitely. And every other time we kissed.'  
  
She paused. Now she was crying, like the rest of them had. 'And the first time we made love. . .it was the most magical moment of my life.' Everyone was raising their eyebrows, thinking they'd heard too much, except of course Anya, who was listening intently, eager to hear more.  
  
'I guess I now know that our love won't ever be perfect. You'll always love Tara, and unfortunately, that's something I think we can't overcome.' Everyone stared at her. Did this mean they were going to break up?  
  
'I love you more than anything Willow, and I would give up my own life to save yours. Because these last few months have been the best of my life. And even though this won't be able to last forever. . .' she was crying properly now. 'I will be grateful always for what you have given me. True love. I want to thank you Willow, for giving me so much love and making me happier than I have ever been.'  
  
She read the second blessing, while everyone else couldn't believe what they'd just heard from someone Willow had only known a few months. And they all felt Kennedy's sorrow, of loving someone so much who could never love them back like that.  
  
The piece of paper was passed to Anya. 


	7. Love, Friendship, and the Dangers of Vod...

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer - it all belongs to Joss Whedon.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: These are the last of the speeches. . .Anya and Xander reveal their feelings. I tried to get this as good as I could too, but I'd really appreciate feedback for reference in future stories. Next chapter will cover the next part of the spell, and you'll all see whether Tara will be brought back for that precious moment. . .Please keep reviewing, I love reading reviews!  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Anya stared at the piece of paper momentarily. It was her turn. What could she say to Willow? Anya looked at Willow's body, stiff and blue, and all of sudden knew what she had to do.  
  
'Anya?' Dawn looked at her curiously. 'Are you OK?'  
  
'I'm fine. I'm great. . .' she had a new sense of strength in her, and recited the blessing proudly. Somehow though, that didn't quite suit the mood, so everyone was staring at her bizarrely. However, her speech wasn't anything anyone had expected.  
  
'I guess I don't have a lot to say to you Willow. Literally. I mean, you've never left a huge impact on my life. . .except of course that time when you almost destroyed the world - but you pretty much left an impact on every human being there.'  
  
Spike slapped his forehead, realising her speeches were as awful as her comments. But she hadn't finished yet.  
  
'But one thing I can definitely tell you is this is some experience. Sitting here, listening to everyone talk about how much you mean to them. . .' she paused, all of a sudden terrified. 'Especially considering I put you here in the first place.'  
  
There was a sudden gasp, and a simultaneous 'what?!' from everyone in the group. Anya stayed firm though, and went on. 'Yeah. I'm responsible. I went to a bar, got totally drunk, told the bartender everything, who turned out to be a witch hunter, and now I have practically been eaten away by my own guilt.'  
  
Pretty much everyone's faces had turned from love and concern to anger and disbelief of how stupid Anya could actually be, in about a minute. However, for some strange reason, Xander's face hadn't changed, only expressed more of the same emotions. Anya went on.  
  
'I know you'll probably never forgive me for putting you in this state. I can certainly tell your friends never will. But despite that, I'm so glad that this has happened. Because, not only have I learnt the lesson to never get drunk in a bar again. . .' It was meant to be a joke to break the icy atmosphere, but it crashed and burned instead. 'But also, I've learnt how amazing you really are. How you've touched so many people. And, somehow, when you look back on this, I don't think you'll look back on it as a time when you almost died, but when you were brought back to life by love that you gave out, and now it's being returned to you.'  
  
To everyone's surprise, now Anya was crying. 'But the reason I was in the bar in the first place, was because someone didn't love me how much I loved them.' She glanced quickly at Xander, and he was astonished. 'Which will obviously never be a problem for you, considering how much you mean to everyone around you. I'll never mean that much to anyone, and as soon as you wake up I'll probably go to LA or something. . . or at least I know I'll leave San Francisco.'  
  
She changed her tone from teary sadness and finished it off with a final thought. 'Thank you Willow, for showing me I don't deserve anything, and for convincing me I don't belong here.' She read the blessing after, and passed it to Xander, not even wanting to see his face, which was probably full of revulsion.  
  
But it wasn't. And nor was anyone else's. Their looks of anger had changed to looks of pity and sorrow, because even though Anya had done something awful, she truly felt terrible about it, and was torturing herself too much.  
  
'Anya. . .' Buffy began.  
  
'No, please don't say anything.' Anya looked at the floor.  
  
'But Anya. . .'  
  
'Please!' They could hear her crying, but all realised they had something else to do. It was Xander's turn, however he was just staring at her, a mixture of emotions on his face.  
  
**********  
  
'Xander, it's your turn. And you're the last too,' Dawn reminded him.  
  
'Oh. . . yeah,' he took the sheet of paper with the blessings and began reciting. Then he paused, taking a moment to re-gather his thoughts, and started his speech.  
  
'Y'know, Will, I have seen you through a lot of stuff. As a vampire from an alternate universe, as a ghost, as an apocalyptic evil. . . but I've never seen you this colour. It suits you. Maybe when you get out of this state, you can find a spell that'll make you blue permanently. . .' he laughed, but his laugh morphed into a sob.  
  
'Who am I kidding. . .Willow, I love you more than anything in this world. I saw you grow up in kindergarten, in elementary school, in high school. . .I've had fun with you, had a crush on you, been angry with you. . .I've seen you laugh, cry and act crazy. . .I don't think any two people can be as close as we are.'  
  
Everyone was aware that out of all of them there, Xander was finding this the most painful. They could all have bet good money that if Willow died, Xander would kill himself, or at least track down every witch hunter in the world and kill them.  
  
'I can't stand to see you like this, Will. All I ever wanted was to see you happy. And now look at you. . .' He put his face in his hands, and was silent for a moment. He began speaking again through tears. 'All I have to say is, if you ask me, this whole thing is crap.'  
  
They all stared at him alarmingly. What was he getting himself into? If the witch hunters weren't satisfied, Willow would die. Why was he deliberately ruining their chances?  
  
'These witch hunters came up with the notion that if witches deserve to live, a spell will bring them back. But you know what? You don't need a spell to bring you back Willow. And you don't need all of us to tell you and those damn witch hunters how amazing you are. Because everyone already knows that.' He turned to speak to everyone. He was suddenly strong.  
  
'And nobody needs to be told how amazing they are. Everyone in this room has a right to live, no matter what they think. Take Anya,' He pointed at her. Anya had a horror-stricken look on her face, and was so scared of what Xander, the one she loved, was about to say.  
  
'She was a vengeance demon, and for years dedicated her life to harming men as much as she could, and I guess was technically evil. She's clumsy, thoughtless, and makes stupid mistakes, just like she did now.'  
  
Spike raised his eyebrow at Xander and whispered to Kennedy. 'Did he have a drink before this? Or perhaps a few?' Kennedy didn't turn to look at him, but barely shrugged, a look of astonishment on her face. Anya was looking at the floor, tears streaming down her face again.  
  
'But does all that matter, when she helped save the world a lot, turned around to fight evil, and was capable of making me the happiest I've ever been?' They were all still staring at him. Anya looked up at him, not believing her ears.  
  
'Exactly. But nobody needs to tell Anya she deserves to live, because we all know it's true. Even though she doesn't seem to think so.' He paused. 'Every person has their flaws. But we appreciate them for the good they do in life, not anything else. And if in the end, they are good people, and not evil, what do their stupid mistakes matter?' There was a moment of silent thought among all of them.  
  
He turned to Willow's body, took one of her blue lifeless hands in his. 'I love you Willow, and nobody needs to tell me that you deserve to live. Because if you die, I will dedicate my entire life to finding every single witch hunter alive and making their lives hell. And that is much more powerful than any spell. The love and care of a friend.'  
  
He began the after blessing, and shouted the last line. 'Grant her life, AS SHE DESERVES!'  
  
And suddenly, everyone was blown away by a flash of blinding light. And, as no one had doubted, Willow was glowing. 


	8. Soul Possession

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer - it all belongs to Joss Whedon.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just so you understand. . .Willow glowing is a good thing. This chapter deals with the next part of the spell. It's not as easy as it looks though. . .there is a twist, which I will reveal to you in the next chapter.  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Everyone was possessed with a moment of sudden ecstasy. 'Oh my G-d, it worked!' Dawn shouted happily. 'The first proper spell organised by me worked!'  
  
'Is it the right colour?' Anya asked. Everyone ignored her stupid comment. They were all too busy jumping around, happy, hugging each other.  
  
It was like that for a couple of minutes, until Dawn interrupted them. 'Wait, you guys, we can't celebrate yet, we still have to make Tara's soul come.'  
  
Everyone stopped. They'd completely forgotten about that part. They'd actually only finished the easy bit, now it was much harder.  
  
'Right. . .' Buffy let out, as everyone sat back down, the momentary joy having been extinguished in. . .well. . .a moment.  
  
'OK, everyone has to co-operate with me,' Dawn said looking over them all. 'Kennedy, if you can get to the centre, just above Willow,' she pointed to where she wanted Kennedy, and she moved there.  
  
'The rest of you help me get Tara to understand when she arrives. Now. . .' Dawn turned around and put a book in front of her that nobody had noticed was there in the first place. 'First of all comes the Spirit Circle spell, which is in Sumerian, as is the Summoning spell which I will do afterwards. Everyone OK?' She paused for reassurance. They all nodded, incredibly anxious all at once.  
  
'Alright. . .deep breaths. . .it'll all be OK. . .' Dawn was trying to reassure herself now, because the closer it came to performing the life- saving spell, the more nervous she got. She started reciting words that nobody understood (except Spike) and her voice was shaking unsteadily. Buffy noticed this, and placed her hand on Dawn's arm in an attempt to calm her. Dawn stopped for a moment, letting her sister's touch relax her, and then smiled weakly. 'Thanks,' she whispered.  
  
'It's OK,' Buffy replied. 'You're doing great.'  
  
Dawn turned back to the book and stared at all the symbols she was deciphering. This seemed to be getting harder and harder. . .  
  
After a couple of minutes of more reciting, a light blue circle started slowly conjuring itself around Kennedy. 'It's working!' she burst out. This gave Dawn the confidence boost she needed, and her words seemed to become stronger and more meaningful, as did the circle itself.  
  
As she said the last words, the blue circle shone brightly at the rest of them. Dawn put her book down momentarily and started walking around it seeing that it was secure.  
  
'It looks alright. . .no gaps, bright light, right colour. . .'  
  
'I knew colour came into it somewhere!' Anya exclaimed proudly.  
  
'Anya, I'm saying this as your friend,' Spike began kindly, but continued coldly. 'Could you shut up for just a second about your colours?'  
  
Anya looked offended. This was hard enough for her considering she was responsible, she didn't need anyone else to give her anymore crap.  
  
Meanwhile, Dawn sat back down, and turned to a new page. 'OK, I'm gonna do the Summoning spell now. Kennedy, part of this spell is also the swap of souls, so are you ready?'  
  
Kennedy was silent for a moment. 'Yeah.' Dawn almost started, but Kennedy asked a question. 'Hey, what will it feel like?'  
  
'What will what feel like?'  
  
'My soul without a body. It'll probably be weird, right?' There was a pause, and the entire gang looked at Dawn for answers. Dawn made a face. 'Well, I don't know! It's not as if my soul's ever been bodiless!'  
  
'That's comforting at this point. . .' Kennedy rolled her eyes, but sadly rather than sarcastically.  
  
Dawn was fed up. She'd worked hard; did she have to put up with more complaints from Kennedy? 'Listen, you volunteered to do this! Sure, something could go wrong, and if you're not ready to face that, you can leave right now, and I'll gladly take your place!'  
  
There was a tense silence, broken by Anya muttering 'sure, you could, but I'm not sure it would be easy for Willow to get over the fact that she kissed you. . .'  
  
Dawn put her face in her hands, and then released it looking directly at Kennedy. 'Are you doing this or not?' Kennedy stared back at her, and realising it was her duty, nodded.  
  
Dawn looked back down at her book and began reciting the final spell that would decide Willow's fate.  
  
The reciting seemed like any other words that could be said, until all of a sudden, a light breeze entered the room.  
  
'Did somebody leave the window open?' Buffy whispered to Spike over Dawn's reciting.  
  
'That would be Tara's soul,' he replied.  
  
'Oh.' Buffy quickly turned to look straight at Kennedy and at any visible differences. Nothing seemed to be changing though.  
  
Dawn went quiet.  
  
'Dawn, what's going on?' Buffy asked seriously.  
  
'She's here.'  
  
Silence.  
  
'Can't you feel her?' Dawn looked inquisitively at Buffy.  
  
'Sure. . .' Buffy replied, but looked away quickly.  
  
'So, our souls'll swap now?' Kennedy asked, her stomach flipping over several times.  
  
'As soon as I recite one more thing.' Dawn continued the meaningless words, but her words were soon drowned out by a magickal happening.  
  
Kennedy's body had been lifted into the air and was encircled by light. She had become unconscious, but some change was obvious. And then without warning, the body collapsed to the floor. The Spirit Circle shone brightly around it, and Willow remained glowing herself on the floor.  
  
'Oh, G-d, what happened?!' Xander stood up.  
  
'I don't know. . .Tara should be fully conscious. . .' Dawn was sceptical.  
  
'Is she dead?' Anya asked.  
  
'It can't be. . .' Everyone's faces were horror-stricken.  
  
Suddenly, Kennedy's body lifted its face, and looked around panicked. They were all frozen, and then-  
  
'Tara?' Dawn said. 'Is that. . .you?'  
  
Kennedy looked down at the floor, and then looked up again, as quickly as she had before. She stared at the goings-on around her with a confused look on her face.  
  
'We don't have much time,' Buffy said urgently. 'We need to get her to kiss Willow, no matter how confused she might be.'  
  
'Tara. . .' Dawn approached her and touched her lightly, but she just flinched. 'We need you to do something. . .' she pointed at Willow. 'She needs you right now. She needs your kiss.'  
  
Kennedy's body grabbed her own head, as if experiencing a headache, then looked back up.  
  
'Can you do it?' Dawn asked. The body shut its eyes, even more confused, but then saw Willow. 'Willow. . .'  
  
'Yeah, it's Willow. You have to kiss her,' Dawn said. 'And quickly, we're running out of time.' Kennedy's body crawled over to Willow's body, and touched her glowing cheek.  
  
What struck everyone most about the way 'Tara' was behaving was that it was like a normal person, except partly possessed and trying to fight it off. They all figured it must've been a 'dead-for-a-long-time' thing.  
  
And somehow it seemed, as if by reflex, Kennedy's body kissed Willow.  
  
And just like in some fairy tale, Willow started to float; her glow became even brighter so that it blinded the gang. 'Kennedy' looked up amazed from the floor watching Willow.  
  
And then the body fell to the ground. 


	9. Revived and Surprised

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer - it all belongs to Joss Whedon.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Let me just clear something up. . .some of you seem to be under the impression that I hate Anya. I just want to say, that is completely NOT TRUE. She and Spike were my two favourite characters, and that's why I brought them both back for my fics. If I call her stupid or anything similar, it's not because I think she is (we all know how her 'I've-lived-a-thousand-years' can lead to hilarious lines and it makes her a great funny blunt character), it's only because I love her, and trust me, I am going somewhere good with this. I'll just say this much - if you're a Xanya person, you're in for a surprising treat.  
  
Also, this might seem like the last chapter, but there is one more, which will end on kind of a cliff-hanger. It'll continue onto my next story, which I'll give you more info about in the last chapter of this one. But please PLEASE keep reading and reviewing, (sorry if I offended anybody. . .) I really do appreciate it.  
  
Chapter 9  
  
They all stared terrified at Willow's body for a moment.  
  
But then it moved.  
  
'Will. . .' Xander went over to Willow and hugged her. She seemed groggy as if she'd been sleeping for a long time.  
  
'Xander. . .?' she returned his hug, but only with weak strength. 'What's happening. . .?'  
  
'It'll all be OK. . .' Xander was stroking her hair and crying silently at having his best friend back.  
  
'Kennedy' was sitting motionless looking at Xander and Willow. She looked away.  
  
Dawn remembered all of a sudden among the happiness at Willow being back.  
  
'Tara, get in the circle!' Dawn pounced and pushed her into the blue Spirit Circle.  
  
'But. . .' she spoke.  
  
Willow noticed something going on, and lightly pushed Xander away. She pulled enough strength together to walk over to the body, and stood just outside the Spirit Circle.  
  
'Dawn, did you just say "Tara"?' Willow asked bewildered. Dawn reluctantly nodded.  
  
'That's her soul in Kennedy's body. She revived you.'  
  
Willow looked closer at Kennedy and deeply into her eyes. Her face looked puzzled. 'I don't think so. . .'  
  
'Huh?' Buffy stood up.  
  
'I've looked deep into Tara's eyes enough times. . .and I've seen her soul. There's an essence of Tara here, but. . .it's not her completely.'  
  
'That can't be,' Dawn said. 'It's imposs-  
  
But she was cut off, and a huge light shone. A grey fog was seen leaving Kennedy's mouth, and then. . .it disappeared, leaving the body limp. The Spirit Circle evaporated.  
  
'Kennedy!' Willow shouted. She moved right over to her and shook her. 'Wake up, please. . .' Now Willow was sobbing. But she'd only just started when Kennedy opened her eyes.  
  
'Kennedy! You're OK!' Dawn exclaimed. Willow hugged her tightly, and then kissed her on the lips. The she turned around.  
  
'What the hell just happened?!' Willow said infuriated, but in her own cute way.  
  
'Long story, Will,' Buffy said.  
  
'I don't care!' Willow shouted with a certain anger about her. But as usual, she was too nice to keep it up. 'I mean, I really wanna know,' she said in a gentler tone.  
  
'Wait,' Kennedy said suddenly. 'Something happened. Just now.'  
  
'What?' asked Dawn.  
  
'I. . .I never fully left my body. I mean, there were points when I wasn't in control, but. . .I was always in there.'  
  
'Did the spell go wrong Dawn?' asked Buffy.  
  
'It can't have,' Dawn replied. 'I mean, Willow's here, right?'  
  
'I felt Tara.' Kennedy surprised everyone with this notion. 'She was there. But, not on her own. We were there together - if that makes any sense. Because our souls. . .I guess our souls kinda mixed together, and that's what made Willow wake up. . .'  
  
'So that means. . .what?' Spike said all of a sudden. 'Some kind of Frankenstein soul was Willow's true love?'  
  
'It means that,' Anya said, and then paused, surprised that everyone was paying attention to her. 'Tara will always be a part of Willow's heart. . .but also that her love is Kennedy, and when the souls of those two loves are together, Willow can come alive a million times.'  
  
Kennedy smiled widely, and realised Anya was right. The rest of them were thoughtful, thinking about what Anya had just said and how true it was. Willow was still a bit confused though.  
  
'What is this about my true love? And Tara's soul?' She looked around hopefully at them, but they were too exhausted to explain.  
  
'Please guys, let me in on it!' Willow said annoyed. Buffy just came over and hugged her. 'I missed you Will,' she whispered in her ear.  
  
Everyone followed Buffy's example and a one-on-one hug transformed into a group hug, however Anya stood by the side, because she felt she didn't deserve to be a part of it. When they split up from the hug, Xander said: 'Let's fill Willow in.'  
  
**********  
  
After a long explanation, even though none of them could believe they had enough energy to speak, Willow was touched, but slightly disappointed.  
  
'I wish I could've heard everything you guys said, I feel all those speeches were kinda wasted.'  
  
'Not even for a moment.' Xander assured.  
  
'We don't care, we're just glad you're OK!' said Buffy, smiling at her best friend.  
  
'Now, I know you guys probably feel like you wanna spend every single minute of the day with me now or something, but I really need some sleep.'  
  
"Absolutely" echoed from the group, as Kennedy took Willow up the stairs and back to their bed.  
  
The gang stood there in silence for a minute. They had done it. And how could they have not? As someone had once said, "what can't we face if we're together?"  
  
**********  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE (again): I also just want to say at this point how much I miss Tara and Willow together, and maybe I will write a fic that goes a bit further bringing her back than this (but at this point I thought 3 resurrections would just be too many, even for a fan fic. . .). Also, for all you anti-Kennedy people, I wasn't too fond of her myself, but I'm trying to make her a nicer character for my fics (I'm sort of re-writing the character, but only keeping the name) because I do believe Willow should have somebody she cares about. Again, I'll see whether I can do anything about Tara without making the plotline too crazy. Nat xxx 


	10. Finally

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer - it all belongs to Joss Whedon.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: OK. . .this is the last chapter. Again, if you want to read more in this series (I hope you do. . .) please just wait, very soon I will be posting my third story, which is a continuation of this one. More details about that story and some spoilers at the bottom of this chapter. . .  
  
Chapter 10  
  
During the silence, Buffy and Spike caught each other's eye. They didn't know how to express themselves, so they just looked at each other, as if in a trance. However, Buffy snapped out of it quickly.  
  
'Hey, Spike, can I talk to you for a sec. . .upstairs?'  
  
Anya, Xander and Dawn - who had been looking at Buffy as she said this - swivelled their heads around expectantly in Spike's direction. He acted surprised, but only to put on a show in front of the gang. Somehow, he had known this was going to happen that night.  
  
He nodded, as he and Buffy walked up the stairs in silence. Anya, Xander and Dawn looked on in amazement.  
  
'I think this is gonna be a major milestone in their relationship,' commented Dawn.  
  
**********  
  
When they reached Buffy's room, she shut the door behind them. Again, they just stared at each other - partly because they were speechless, but at the same time had so much to say that they thought they should just keep quiet for now.  
  
'So. . .' Spike began.  
  
'So. . .' Buffy repeated.  
  
Silence reigned over them again.  
  
'Look, I don't want this to be awkward, Buffy, because I know that we're capable of avoiding that,' Spike got the ball rolling.  
  
She smiled. 'There's nothing to be awkward about.' She walked over to him slowly, closer and closer. He backed away.  
  
'Wait. . .' he stretched out his hands to put some space between them. 'Before you do anything, I want to know something.' He was serious, but in a soft way so that he had tears in his eyes. She held her breath, awaiting what he was about to say.  
  
'I meant every word of what I said down there,' he assured. 'And I want to be with you more that anything in this world. . .' he turned away for a moment. 'I just need to know that you meant everything you said. Because, dammit, if you were messing with me and getting my hopes up like that. . .' he shook a finger at her.  
  
'I wasn't.' She stood solid. 'Fact is. . .I don't think there's much left to say. We've said it, and we meant it. And I know there's something I've been dying to do ever since I saw you.' She approached him, and this time he didn't stop her. She stood right in front of him.  
  
He lifted his hand to her soft cheek and touched it delicately, as he had craved for such a long time. She felt his touch, and shivers of warmth flowed through her. His other hand met hers, and they joined with so much power, as if joining by spirit with a simple touch.  
  
They looked into each other's eyes deeply, deeper than they ever had, into their hearts, into their souls, which they now both possessed. He held her close and felt her warm breath, and for the first time she could feel his. She had never felt this much passion, this much love. . .  
  
'I love you,' she barely whispered, and with her instincts dragging her, their lips met.  
  
Volcanoes erupting, waves crashing, the earth shaking - all that wasn't enough to describe the explosion of love Buffy and Spike were feeling at that moment. And once it started, it was as if they both couldn't get enough of each other. The kiss grew more intense, and they both moved towards the bed. Nothing else mattered now except the two of them, and the bond that they were about to feel.  
  
**********  
  
While Buffy and Spike were. . .connecting. . .Anya, Xander and Dawn had been left downstairs.  
  
'Hey, Dawnster, I think you should be getting to bed,' Xander said, pushing her lightly up the stairs.  
  
'Yeah, OK. . .' she eyed them suspiciously. 'I'm just gonna go and brush my teeth again. . .' she scurried up the stairs, looking at them both the entire time.  
  
'Listen, Xander. . .' Anya started speaking as soon as Dawn was gone. 'I understand all the stuff you said. . .about me. . . it was just to make the spell work. It was really sweet of you but. . .I'll be going now. . .'  
  
'Wait!' he grabbed her, stopping her from leaving. She turned around, surprised. 'I don't want you to leave. Ever again.' He put his hands on her shoulders. 'It was hard enough for me when you died. If you think I'm gonna let you live and not be a part of my life. . .you're crazy.'  
  
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. 'Really? You mean that?' she held her breath waiting for a reply.  
  
'Yes. And I think we should make it official. Being a part of each other's lives,' he let go of her shoulders and held her hands. 'Let's get married.'  
  
Her eyes widened. 'What?!'  
  
'Let's go to the airport and fly to Vegas - right now.'  
  
Anya started hyperventilating slightly. 'But Xander. . .I don't have a dress, our friends are asleep, and we're not at all prepared. . .'  
  
He shushed her. 'It doesn't matter. Nothing does. Except for the fact that I can't stand another moment of you not being with me.' He leaned in and kissed her, the first time since she had come back to life. 'I love your beauty, your quirks, your strength. . .so let's get out of here.' He grabbed her hand as he made his way to the door.  
  
Anya hesitated. 'Wait - what about the gang? We should leave a note or message of some kind to inform them of where we are.' Xander stopped and smiled.  
  
'That's my girl, always thinking of others!' He ran over to a pile of post- it notes and a pen that were always by the fridge. He began to write.  
  
'Put in something about us not being kidnapped by demons!' Anya suggested. Xander smiled as he wrote. When he finished, he put the pen down and stuck the post-it note to the fridge, securing it with a magnet.  
  
'There, done!' Xander exclaimed. Anya giggled, overwhelmed, as Xander grabbed her hand again, and they rushed out into the very late night towards the airport.  
  
**********  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: OK, so here are just a few plotlines of my next story, continuing this one, which I hope will interest you people out there:  
  
Buffy and Spike wake up from the morning after, and even though they are both incredibly happy, they start having serious thoughts about their future.  
  
Anya and Xander are in Las Vegas, but will they finally make that walk up the aisle? (Hint: Uh. . .it's not no, and it rhymes with 'less'. . .in my world, Anya and Xander inevitably end up together, so duh.)  
  
Buffy goes to apply for a new job, which she gets too easily. And things start to get even fishier when her boss makes strange requests. . .and they lead to strange happenings. Could there be a case of the supernatural at work?  
  
Another old character visits, but this time in a more solid form. It causes unrest among the gang - this person's not so popular. But it seems they will be hanging around for a while. . .  
  
And finally, we get some classic Slayer-kick-ass moments, with the Scooby Gang helping of course.  
  
This is just a rough outline, but please, if you like the sound of it, it will be up very soon and it will be called WRESTLE WHILE YOU WORK. Also, I'd like to thank anyone that's reviewed either of my stories so far, I really REALLY appreciate it. The reason I keep writing is because you keep reading and reviewing, so please do! I have loads of ideas just waiting to be put onto paper, and if you guys like this so far, I will do that.  
  
So watch this space for WRESTLE WHILE YOU WORK which, I say again, will be up very soon. Nat xxx 


End file.
